Bible glossary
What Does ‘Repentance’ Mean in the Bible?
Repentance is a change of heart and direction: turning away from sin and turning back toward God.
In short
Repentance is a change of heart and direction: turning away from sin and turning back toward God.
The word behind repentance means a change of mind that becomes a change of course. It is more than feeling sorry. It is a turning: away from what harms and dishonors, and back toward God and His way. Godly sorrow leads to it, but the heart of it is the turning itself.
Repentance is not a punishment or a groveling performance. In the Bible it is good news, the doorway home. It is how the prodigal gets up and walks back to a father who is already running toward him. It can be quiet, and it can begin again today.
Key verses
“Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.”
Acts 3:19
“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.”
Mark 1:15
“For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of.”
2 Corinthians 7:10
Repentance and Jesus
Jesus began His public message with a call to repent, not to shame people but to invite them home. Repentance turns us toward the One who forgives freely. It is not how we earn His love; it is how we receive it.